Dear Fellow Freecyclers,

Please do not post a TAKEN until the item is actually taken from you.

So often I see posts like this:

TAKEN: Item
Pending pick-up. I already have a back-up and a back-up to the back-up so Thank You.

Let me say first that I completely understand wanting to end the emails asking for the item or the emails asking specific questions about the item, as if we're running boutiques and are just dying to let this one individual person have our item.

With that in mind, I'm sure it's easy to understand how annoying it is when everyone on the list receives a post two days later that says:

RE-OFFER: Item
Offering this item again. No no-shows.

You can delete all the annoying emails after the item is picked up but wait until it is no longer in your life before you post the TAKEN post. Posting TAKEN does not serve the purpose of stopping emails, it serves the purpose of indicating that the item is gone.

RE-OFFER is most appropriate when an OFFER has sit for a significant amount of time and you'd like to remind your fellow freecyclers that you still have this item and would still like to give it away. This is a great opportunity to add a little more detail to generate some interest.

As Always,
Me.

Dear Fellow Freecyclers,

Here are the subject classifications: WANTED, OFFER, RECEIVED, TAKEN.

THANKS is sometimes used in replaced of RECEIVED, which is what one posts after getting what they posted in a WANTED. TAKEN is posted by the person who posted the OFFER after it is taken by someone. If you respond to an OFFER, don't post a THANKS. Not only does it create yet another Freecycle post that doesn't need to be there, it lets us all know that you are the one who has it, which can be dangerous on a list of over 5000 people, some of whom also asked to pick up the OFFER that you took.

This might seem trivial but there has been a history of people placing themselves in precarious situations because of Freecycling. The organization, both nationally and locally, encourages a set of safe guidelines for giving/receiving property, including meeting in a neutral location so private residences aren't known. This is to keep everyone safe. When a THANKS is posted in response to an OFFER, it lets every unstable person who felt they needed that particular thing know that you are the one who has it, who took it from them. Also, on account of a THANKS post being so unnecessary, I've actually heard someone on the cafe group describe it as "bragging". There's just some kinds of people you don't want to piss off.

Thanking people is good manners, so send the person a private email to say, "Thank you."

As Always,

Me.

PS. As a related point, when you post an OFFER and it is successfully picked up by a fellow Freecycler, do not include the person's name in the TAKEN post. With all the reasons previously stated above, minus the paranoia about "bragging", it's just not cool to put someone else's name out there without their consent.